


Once Again, From The Top

by Zeodyme



Category: Pet Shop of Horrors
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Eventual Smut, Fix-It, Fluff, Graphic Descriptions of the Aftermath of Violence, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Short Temper, Sibling Bonding, Slow Burn, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, at first, curse words, only in the first chapter tho, shameless OC insertion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2018-12-08 13:31:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11647554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeodyme/pseuds/Zeodyme
Summary: Leon's spend more than half his life chasing D across the world. But when he finds the shop, it's not the right one.But the shop always knows what the heart desires, and decides to give him a nudge towards someone who can help.He gets what he wants, but in a different way than he's expecting.





	1. Prologue : The End

He stood in front of a building, looking at the entrance with a mix of hope and dread. The little shop is tucked away between two taller department stores, set back and with a curving staircase down to it. One could easily miss it if they weren't looking out. But there it was, and though the letters weren't completely familiar to him he had learned enough on his travels to read the sign. It confirmed the rumors he had followed, the tales from the lucky few.

Count D's Petshop. Open from nine to five. Closed on weekends, to the public at least.

Leon Orcot stood at the edge of the staircase and squinted at the shadowed doorway below. He'd been on this chase so long now. It was hard to believe his D would still be here, where as the Count had packed up and left with mere hints before. He'd just missed the shop in several cities. Quite a few times, with it vanishing less than a month after settling in. But he knew that the D's liked to stay put for at least a year if he could.

Leon glanced at his watch. It was four fifty, and that meant he couldn't push his indecision much longer. A small grin made his lips turn up at the thought of his D's face with last minute customers. The Count had always been polite, but he got just as exasperated as a human would with those that couldn't bother to come at a decent time.

The blond shook off the nostalgia and carefully started down the stairs. He winced at the ache in his knees, and not for the first time wished he'd been more careful in his travels. When he got to the bottom, Leon reached and turned the knob, then pushed open the door.

A crisp bell sounded as the door opened, and for a moment he was twenty seven again, stepping into the shop for the first time. The incense was exactly right, a smell he'd almost forgotten and missed dearly, so much so that as he stepped inside that he automatically relaxed. It was like coming home, though it was a home he'd never have agreed to accept before.

A whisper of silk had Leon tense again, and he watched the edge of a figure come into view. It's the right figure, lithe enough to be androgynous and sinuous enough to hint at danger. But... the hair's too long, it ended just below the shoulders in the front and looked to be longer in the back. He looked to the eyes, hidden some like the other D's. They're both violet.

Leon fought off a frown, even as disappointment curled in his stomach.

"Welcome to Count D's Petshop," the D said. "We have everything from the domestic, to the heart's desire."

The voice was similar, but it was off too. Just enough, inflections and a bit different accent. He'd never known exactly how many D's there were. He couldn't tell if this one had been around longer than his or not. Nothing was right.

The disappointment made him abruptly exhausted. Leon wavered for a moment, then sighed.

"Can I sit for a minute?"

The D tilted his head, and Leon caught the slightest flash of irritation. But the Count murmured an "of course" and turned. Leon followed him into the slightly set back room and gratefully plopped into a chair by the table that no doubt would soon hold sweets and tea.

Leon measured his breaths, and tried to shake off feeling his age. But he couldn't anymore. All the years he'd spent chasing his D, and this was what he found. One similar enough to make his heart ache. But not the right one.

He considered asking about the D he'd first met. He wanted to know, but... At the same time, he didn't. His D had had a problem with his lungs. It didn't matter that D wasn't human, that sort of thing wasn't good. Leon didn't know what he'd do if D wasn't actually around any more. Half of the rant he'd built up now relied on how many years he'd spent hunting down any tiny wisp of a hint about them.

Leon wasn't young by any means now. He was in his mid sixties. He might look decent for his age, but he felt it all to the core. The aches and pains from his cop days, followed by reckless adventures across all the world. The sharp pain any time he got too winded, his lungs nearly burnt out from the smoking he'd done when he was younger. He couldn't even drink any more, his liver couldn't handle it when he'd been forty and it'd had to be removed.

Leon was old, tired, and his goal may not even be around any more. He got around by not thinking about those things. But with this D right in front of him, it was too hard to ignore it all.

"What is it that you desire?"

The voice halted his spiral and Leon looked up. This D was poised and polite outwardly. However, there was a light in his eyes that put Leon on edge. He'd seen that before. When his D found a particularly interesting customer. Interesting to the pets, that was. And those who were interesting to the pets tended to wind up dead.

Leon had no interest in dying. He just wanted to find the D he'd met all those years ago. Yell at the bastard a little. Well, no. A lot. And then just stay, if he could. Leon had long come to terms with what he really wanted, what he'd denied for far too long. But this wasn't the right D. This one would lead to ruin if Leon wasn't careful. He couldn't just leave though. It was too suspicious to come and go like he used to. Leon had no jurisdiction to investigate. And honestly, no motivation either, since this wasn't the right D.

"I was thinking a cat? Something easy to take care of, at least. I can't do too much at my age."

It was oddly satisfying to see the flash of a frown from the D. But the Count rose, and Leon managed to as well after a second. D motioned for him to follow, then led the way into the back.

Leon breathed in as he walked behind the other. If this was his last chance, he'd take what he could get. He had a solid plan for getting out. Let D lead him to the cats, get interested, fake an allergy, pretend to be sheepish and claim on-setting Alzheimer's. Then book it out of there as quickly as possible. He couldn't chance that the D was leading him to a special cat room. As it was, the glances he gave into other open rooms already showed something he'd missed. The duel images of human-animal he'd just come to see in his later stays in the shop. It figured he wouldn't see just the 'human' side, since he'd been gone so long.

They reached an intersection, and Leon was briefly amused by the recognition of the warping of space the shop did. This one didn't feel as big as his D's shop had, though. D kept going straight, but Leon felt a sudden little tug. He stopped and glanced around. But nothing was there.

Leon looked in the direction the tug had been leading. The hallway stretched off like the rest. He glanced back to the D, who hadn't noticed he wasn't following anymore. Then Leon frowned and looked back down the hallway.

One the one hand, he knew far too well that it was an Extremely Bad Idea to wander the shop without a D to accompany him. But on the other. His instincts rarely led him wrong, especially when dealing with D and the shop. Right now, that instinct said Follow.

Another second, then Leon scowled and headed down the right hallway. He wanted to stomp to show his reluctance and frustration, but it wouldn't be a good idea. That would attract unwanted attention. At the next intersection, which came up sooner than the first, the tug came from the right again.

He let himself be led, only briefly glancing into open rooms. Straight, left, right, left, straight, right, right. Leon pinched himself whenever he thought he might be getting lulled by the incense. He couldn't afford to let his guard down in this place.

The hallway ended, and Leon blinked at that. Then he squinted at the wall. There was the faintest outline of a door there. It had that wavering duality that the pets did. But it felt more to him that this door didn't actually belong to the shop. He didn't know what to make of it. It was where he'd been led, though.

He reached out slowly, uncertain if he wanted to actually test his luck on this room. For a second he wavered. The Leon called himself ten kinds of stupid, and reminded himself that he had at least one good fight left in him. He touched the door, and froze as color bloomed out from beneath his hand.

The door went from flat and covered with the same paper as the wall, to the proper inset dimensions and a brilliant depiction of a forest. At the center was a clearing that held a massive old willow tree. Everything looked so real, it was a wonder that it was on the door and not a part of the room.

Leon looked down, and the handles had also come out of the door. They were shaped like feathers, and were a pure black. He slid his hand to one and lifted the latch behind it, then pushed the door open.

It was a bit of a surprise to see what looked like a fairly normal room behind the door. The place looked like it could be an upscale flat somewhere. The carpet was the same pure black as the door handles, and was very soft. The ceiling and walls were a dark blue. A bed was tucked into the far corner, sheets and drapery a royal purple. Bookshelves lined the wall across from him. A table, a couch, and a few plush chairs made a circle over to the left. To the right was a sizable desk which had a laptop and some paper and pens on it. A few pictures and paintings were on the walls.

There were three other doors in the room. Leon went a bit further in, his curiosity getting the better of him. He'd never seen a room like this in the shop before. It was usually either a large room with comforts for all the pets in it, or a room that imitated the natural habitat of the pet inside.

"Well, that's not the right corridor."

Leon jumped at the voice and turned to see someone standing in one of the doors on the right side of the room. Male, looked to be in his late twenties, had short messy hair that was somehow a darker black than the carpet and door handles. His skin was as pale as the Count's, but had more of a peach undertone. The other was looking past him at the open door with curiosity. Then they shifted to focus on him, and Leon had to pause for a moment when he registered that this male's eyes were a bright crimson.

Strangely, upon seeing Leon the other male grinned. Leon was thankful that the other didn't seem to have fangs. But he couldn't be certain. He blinked as another thing occurred to him. This male didn't have the duel image he'd seen on the pets he'd passed in the shop.

Leon didn't know much about this place, but he knew that things that appeared human when he wasn't able to see only that were Dangerous.

"Close that will you? That's not the shop it should go to, and I really don't want to know what'll happen if that link stays."

The blond hesitated, but he complied after a bit. Shutting the door might not be the best idea. But he didn't want to get busted either. If it would lead out into another, different, shop after being closed, that gave him a chance to meet another D.

The other male moved across the room. He seemed completely at ease, which made Leon all the more assured that he was outclassed. The raven didn't look like he could do much. He was tall, but thin, a lithe muscular build to him. Leon knew better than to trust that image. He'd met a tiny kid that was a dragon, after all.

"You can call me Zeo, by the way. No, I'm not going to eat you. Or harm you. It's been a while since I've seen one of you, you know. Never that old, either."

Leon scrunched his nose and scowled some. He was more focused on the second part of what Zeo had said than anything. What did that even mean, "one of you"?

Zeo settled on the couch, and looked to Leon. Crimson eyes rolled, and his voice came out amused.

"Come on. I'm a really good listener. Tell me your story."

Leon watched the other for a few minutes. Both because he was wary, and because he wanted to irritate Zeo. But Zeo stayed relaxed and in place. He didn't once lose the amused openness to him. 

"What happens if I say no?" Leon asked, tone gruff.

Zeo shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

"Then you can leave. I told you, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just curious about you. And I get the feeling you could use a friendly listener."

Leon snorted softly. He eyed the other and decided he'd like to know a bit more before trusting or going off. And the main question was important.

"What are you?"

Zeo's smile edged wider, into a smirk that made all of Leon's alarm bells ring. It wasn't threatening, but it wasn't exactly pleasant either.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Let's just say that... I'm a friend until someone -makes- me a foe. And I don't belong to any of the D's. I'm just staying with one with my family for a while. When my son's old enough, we'll be gone."

Leon held back a few choice words and simply glared for a minute. But the words had a ring of truth to them. So he let the aggression leak out of his posture. He moved over and sat down across from Zeo, and immediately appreciated the softness of the chair. It felt like everything was in the right place to ease his aches into something manageable.

"So. The fact that you're this old, and in the wrong shop, means you're still looking for him?"

Leon's eyes widened, and he was sure his surprise was clear when he looked at Zeo. Zeo gave him a small smile and shrugged.

"It's a guess. Spot on, from the looks of it. I can't read minds."  
"But... how?"

Zeo laughed softly. It's not mocking, and not aimed at him, but it still riled Leon up.

"It's far too long of a story on my end. But please, tell me. What happened to you?"

Leon huffed and crossed his arms. But slowly, uncertainly started talking. He had never told anyone the full story. Chris had known bits and pieces, most from actually being there when it happened. As he kept going, it got easier. Zeo was an attentive listener, and didn't interrupt him.

He went from the beginning. Some of it had started to get fuzzy over the years. But the important stuff stood out. The key details that shaped the course he had gone through. To the end, where he'd woken in that hospital. Then on to the years that things had seemed less colorful as he searched for D. The near misses and the complete dead ends. Finally finding this place, only for it to be Wrong.

Leon trailed off once he'd gone through finding the not-a-door that turned into a door. Zeo looked thoughtful. The raven nodded after a minute.

"Thank you for telling me all of that. You've gone through a lot."

Leon remained silent, feeling far more tired now that he'd gone through his story. Zeo stood and moved towards the shelves. He hummed as he looked through them.

"So, what would you say you really want, then?"

Leon looked over and raised a brow. Zeo didn't see him, focused on what he was doing. It gave Leon some time to think. He wasn't sure he wanted to answer, given how close that question was to the Count's lines. But Zeo had said he wasn't truly involved with the D's. So, slowly, the blond pieced together the best way to say it.

"I want to see him again. Tell him the truth and try to get him to let me stay."

There's a pause, and he sighed. His voice came out more tired. But also honest, and raw with how much he'd lost trying for this.

"I just... want another chance."

A small silver bag, barely a handful, dropped into Leon's lap. He startled and looked up, surprised to see that Zeo was right in front of him. Zeo smiled softly and tipped his head.

"Give that to him when he trusts you again. It'll heal all the problems he has. Make sure he does take it, he can be stubborn."

Leon's fingers curled around the bag. He wasn't sure how to feel at those words. Most of it was hope. The way Zeo had said it sounded like he would meet his D again soon. He tried to ask, but Zeo waved a hand and grinned.

"It's gonna be a bit rough, but. I'm sure you can handle it."

Leon scrunched his nose when Zeo poked his forehead. He froze, though, when he noticed that the crimson eyes had brightened, and the pupils had gone from round to slit vertically. He felt a wave of vertigo, and goosebumps broke out all over.

"Good luck, Leon."

The blond felt another tap, and then he felt like he was falling.

His world faded to black.


	2. Clues to Knowledge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter fought me tooth and nail before I was able to get it here. Where I feel like it's good. It's a little shorter than most. I'll have the next chapter out before a week though!

The next thing that Leon registered was the smells of cigarette smoke and alcohol. The air was a bit musty, and clingingly thick like it only is in big cities. It's a jarring change from the wild clean and subtle incense of the shop. He opened his eyes and regretted it as a sharp pain lanced through his head at the sudden light. For a while he laid where he was. Until the worst of the headache went away. Then Leon slowly opened his just enough to see.

He was in a small room, on a bed that wasn't all that great. The walls were pale beige and the carpet was grey. An open door led out into the rest of the place, and another was cracked and showed haphazardly hung clothes. There were more clothes on the floor, as well as beer cans. To the left against the wall was a desk with a laptop. To his right was a nightstand that had an empty ash tray on it.

Leon sat up carefully and winced at the stab he got for it. He hesitated for a moment, but he knew he needed to see where he was. So he stood and carefully made his way through the door that led elsewhere.

It seemed he was in an apartment. All the standards were there. A kitchen area with cabinets, a fridge, and some counterspace with sink to do dishes. A bathroom off to the left, a rickety table shoved into a corner, and the main part held an old couch and two battered chairs that faced a small television.

Leon glanced to the windows and frowned. The city outside was familiar. But a lot of cities looked alike, when one travelled around the world. He went closer and eyed the buildings along the street. He was somewhere that the native language was English, at least.

Leon felt a bit lost as he looked around again. Then his stomach growled, and he sighed. He made a note to himself to pay back whomever the apartment belonged to and headed to the fridge. Opening it revealed quite a bit of beer, a few kinds of sliced meat, some juice, and a half full pizza box. He grabbed the box and, after a quick check of the cabinets, set the pizza slices in the microwave to heat.

He fixed a glass of juice and sipped at it while he waited on the slices. His fingers tapped on the countertop as he tried to figure out where he was and how he got there. Part of the how was easy. Leon had thought he'd learned his lesson with those that dwelled in the shop, but he'd let his guard down with one that seemed too human.

Now Leon was here. There was no telling how far away he was from the shop he'd been in. Or how he'd gotten here, although he might be able to find someone who would remember him being taken up to the room.

Leon paused for a bit and eyed the window. If he hadn't been brought through one of those, that was.

The microwave dinged and he grabbed the plate before relocating to the table. It felt weird to be making himself at home in someone's place. But circumstances were what they were. Until he could figure things out, Leon would do what he did best. Wing it.

A cheerful ringtone and sudden vibration nearly made Leon tumble out of the chair. As it was he banged his knee on the table. A string of muttered curses left him as he fished a phone out of his pocket.

Leon paused at the sight of it. He hadn't carried a phone for a good while. This one... it was an older model. A flip phone. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a flip phone. They were always the cheapest thing, and not exactly good for that very reason. But he shouldn't have one at all. Unless it was given when he was brought here.

That in mind, and still in a bit of a bad mood from the whole thing and his knee, Leon opened the phone and answered gruffly.

"What?"  
"Don't you what me. Where the hell are you, Leon? You were supposed to be in an hour ago. I don't care how bad your hangover is. Get down here now."

His chest felt heavy, and he felt light headed. He knew that voice. It had faded over time, but. He'd always remember it.

"Jill?"  
"Ugh. Honestly, hurry it up. No one but you will be affected by this and you know how Chief's been lately."  
"I..... yeah, I'll. Be there soon."

There was a huff, and then the line went silent. Leon took the phone away and checked the number. It was Jill's cell, but the one that she'd had back when they were just starting to work together.

Suddenly possessed by the urge to -know-, Leon darted from the table. There were several doors, but the one he opened revealed a bathroom. Just as he'd expected it would. He flipped the light on and looked into the mirror.

The face that stared back was his own. His face in his twenties. No wrinkles or sunspots. Hair bright and full, no sign of silver or thinning. No world travel dark tan, just the faintest hint of sun on his neck. No bags under his eyes from lack of sleep.

Leon sagged against the counter some and let out a soft, slightly manic laugh. This was crazy. It had to be a dream or something. That's what the Shop did best. Dreams and hopes and all that stuff.

But.

But his knee hurt and his head throbbed like he did have the remains of a hangover. He had the slightest amount of stubble from not shaving for maybe a night or two. Everything felt real. Leon knew from experience that when the Shop worked on you, you could feel it. Not overly strong. Usually unnoticed, a faint tingle of the skin or the sounds being off or everything feeling like it's just a bit to the left.

None of those were present. Leon felt fine. Felt amazing, really. Better than he had in forever. If he really was like he appeared, that would explain why.

But if he was really like he appeared... did that mean he'd gone back in time?

Leon stared at the mirror and felt himself spiral a bit at the thought. He had to shake himself out of it. Things like that were above his head. And current paygrade, if he was -when- he thought he was.

The blond headed out of the bathroom and got dressed. If he was in the past, the best way to be sure would be going out and finding out. The Shop's influence wouldn't hold everywhere. And. It would be nice to see those he'd once left behind. Even for a short while.

He'd get the information he needed and after that. He'd figure out a proper plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *quiet screeching* I didn't expect to see so much support and such amazing comments thank you all I'm so glad this fandom isn't dead

**Author's Note:**

> i've been reading too many time travel fix-it fics and they're corrupting me send help


End file.
